Tuesday, September 30, 2014

I espied a Chevrolet Cruze with the vanity license plate ATHW25. 'Twas a University of Michigan-themed plate with a blue block M inside a maize field, so taken all together methinks the license plate is meant to be read "MATHW25," meaning the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter twenty-five. Chapter twenty-five of Matthew is divided into three parables, in my Bible given the subheadings "The Parable of the Ten Virgins," "The Parable of the Talents," & "The Judgment of the Nations." I found this a very resonant reading, for I have squandered so much of my life acting like the lazy, wicked servant, burying my talent in a field instead of hustling to increase the master's treasure in anticipation of his return. Thanks, fellow motorist!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Commentary: Says the parish bulletin on the occasion of the archangels' feast:

The Archangels are the managers, overseeing the other angels, and are mighty and powerful. They're also extremely loving, without judgment or ego and want to help us through our situations to bring about peace and to guide us on our own personal spiritual path. Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides.

I had my annual eye examination this morning, a morning resplendent with clear skies & bright sunshine. Sacred Michigan is reputedly the cloudiest state in the Union, the state not with the most rainy days or highest average rainfall but the most overcast days, & yet it seems that every year on the day my eyes are dilated there is nary a cloud in the sky. By Lucifer's beard! Mine eyes are healthy. My prescription has changed from last year, but only slightly & progressively. I was reminded that I acquired my current spectacles four years hence. If my corrective-lens prescription changes as much between this year & next as it did between last year & this, which is as much as it changed between last year & that before last, I will acquire new lenses next year, when my prescription will be five years old. I remain entirely satisfied with my spectacles' frame.

The Rebel Black Dot Sleepy Song of the Day
They Might Be Giants, "Lazyhead and Sleepybones" from No! (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I was amused by how many persons I saw yawning during yesterday's 5:00 P.M. Mass. The five is a "charismatic" Mass (my word), with the most contemporary music, & its partisans are fierce in their belief that this is the way worship should be. I appreciate their passion & love for the Lord, but for my money there's no such things as too much pipe organ in church music. In any event, 'twas a busy, not physically restful weekend for me & apparently for many others around the parish. I really should write a post about my weekend around the parish (note to self: just that).

Saturday, September 27, 2014

We lost the Little Brown Jug today, & also much of what little remained of our pride. In the words of They Might Be Giants, "Sad, sad, sad, sad,/Why must I be sad?" Brady Hoke must be fired, & I am increasingly of the desperate opinion that it must be done midseason, as soon as humanly possible, lest he drag the entire edifice with him as he goes down in flames. Now—RIGHT NOW!—or at the end of the season, in either event, Brady Hoke must be fired.

The sorry display you saw today? That wasn't Michigan. In the words of Homer Simpson, "That's not America! That's not even Mexico!"

Today is the memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul (1581-1660), the "Great Apostle of Charity" & founder of the Daughters of Charity, formally the Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, & the Vincentians, formally the Congregation of the Mission: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link, Order-link Daughters & Order-link Vincentians.

I did not watch the Appalachian State game; I was in Los Angeles at the Ace's wedding festivities. I was awake by 9:00 A.M. Pacific time, but 'twas a busy day with much happening.

Saturday, 6 September 2014
Notre Dame 31-0 Michigan
1-1, B1G 0-0

I did not watch the Notre Dame game; I was in the vicinity of Frankenmuth at Red Patton's wedding festivities. I saw the halftime score at a bar attached to the reception hall & concluded that continued drinking was the proper response.

Saturday, 13 September 2014
Michigan Miami of Ohio
2-1, B1G 0-0

I did not watch the Miami of Ohio game; I was on a religious retreat on the Holy Redeemer campus. There was not the slightest temptation to see the game as my time was being very well spent.

Saturday, 20 September 2014
Utah 26-10 Michigan
2-2, B1G 0-0

I did watch the Utah game, at least as much as was played before the lightning & torrential rain. What I saw kind of made me wish I hadn't bothered. I was angry & emotionally volatile. I was firmly entrenched in the agony of defeat, with the thrill of victory only a distant memory. Truth be told, I hating watching the valiant Wolverines flail futilely against the epithetless Utes. I cannot say what was the worst part: that we lost; that we lost to a club from the ancient enemy, the Pac-12; or that we lost in such a familiar & predictable fashion. In isolation, I would rather not have watched the Utah debacle. Of course, life's event are not discrete strands but threads in a larger tapestry, & in context, watching the Utah fiasco was part & parcel of a lifelong love of the University of Michigan.

In the six days since the second loss of the young season, I've ranted quite a bit via the FaceSpace on a single theme: Brady Hoke must be fired! My case for Hoke's dismissal is triple-faceted. First, the current squad of valiant Wolverines, Team 135, do not measure up to Michigan Football's high standards. This is evinced by a 2-2 season record, both wins coming over decidedly inferior competition, & the generally sloppy & disheartening way Team 135 played in all four games, including the wins. It is a disgrace & an insult every time bumbling, psyched-out, interception-prone quarterback Devin Gardner takes the field wearing Heisman Trophy-winner Tom Harmon's № 98. Brady Hoke must be fired!

Second, under Coach Hoke the valiant Wolverines are getting worse. In Hoke's first season, using players almost exclusively recruited by his predecessor, the reviled Rich Rodriguez, Team 132 posted an improbable 11-2 record; even at the time, I commented lovingly that there were the worst eleven-win squad one was likely ever to see. The following squad, Team 133, posted an 8-5 final record, while the next squad, Team 134, went 7-6, including a losing record of 3-5 in B1G conference play. Year-on-year, as the roster is increasingly comprised of Hoke's own recruits, the valiant Wolverines are becoming demonstrably worse. A corollary observation is that Team 134 started the '13 campaign 5-0 in the non-conference schedule, before going 2-6 down the stretch; under Hoke, the valiant Wolverines are 4-8 in their last twelve games. This does not augur well for Team 135, who have to go 5-4 in conference play & their bowl game just to equal last year's unacceptable 7-6 record. Brady Hoke must be fired!

Third, Brady Hoke is not & never has been the man to return Michigan to winning ways. Though he had a reputation as a turnaround artist at his two previous head coaching jobs, at Ball State & San Diego State, prior to coming to Michigan Hoke had a 47-50 career record, a losing career record. Before Bo Schembechler, the restorer of Michigan Football's proud tradition, came to Michigan, he had a 40-17-3 record, a winning ratio of more than 2:1, whereas Hoke was sub-1:1. Hoke has never sustained a program, leaving Ball State as soon as he had success & staying at San Diego State for only two seasons (meaning all his success there came using his predecessor's recruits). Brady Hoke loves the University of Michigan, but he is not the man to restore the valiant Wolverines to their accustomed position atop the Big Ten Conference. Brady Hoke must be fired!

Commentary: I'm groping in the dark here, depending on interweb sources &, in the case of error, the Lord's forgiveness & understanding that I mean no harm & am trying to do right. The monk Sergius is apparently a great saint of the post-Great Schism Orthodox churches, but also Byzantine (or Eastern) Catholic Churches, those particular Churches apart from the Latin Church but still in full communion with the Vatican & constituent parts of the one, holy, catholic, & apostolic Catholic Church. So, even if not a saint of the whole Catholic Church, Sergius is venerated as a saint in a great many Catholic autonomous particular Churches.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Last week, Holy Redeemer hosted a parish mission, "The Encounter" presented by Deacon Ralph Poyo, an itinerant preacher, a very gifted speaker who is fairly bursting with the Holy Spirit. Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Me is more of a pamphlet than a proper book, a brief summation & reminder of "The Encounter." Deacon Poyo is a more powerful speaker than he is a writer, which is not to say there's anything particularly amiss about Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Me.

As I strive to improve my prayer life, daily reading of Scripture—especially the Gospels—can only help. After Mark I intend to read Matthew & then Luke, though I'm not sure if after Luke I'll read the Acts of the Apostles or the Gospel according to John. Acts is by the same author as Luke, but John is the last account of Christ's earthly ministry. Joyfully Living the Gospel Day by Day is a small devotional containing a daily verse or two of Scripture, a reflection, & a short prayer. I've had it since spring of last year, but only in the last six months have I been able to read it on a consistent daily basis. To Save a Thousand Souls is a study guide; I'm already halfway through what I need to have read by the first of November.

Recently
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Swords of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Synthetic Men of Mars
Deacon Ralph Poyo, Pick Up Your Cross and Follow Me: Catholic Discipleship—Becoming a Disciple of Jesus Christ

Currently
Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose
the Gospel according to Mark ***daily***
Fr. John Catoir, Joyfully Living the Gospel Day by Day ***daily***
Fr. Brett A. Brannen, To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide to Discerning a Vocation to Diocesan Priesthood ***study guide***

Presently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Llana of Gathol
Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter of Mars
Rice Broocks, God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty
Sir Ernest Shackleton, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
Richard Price, Clockers
Sir Richard Francis Burton, translator, "Sinbad the Sailor" from The Arabian Nights
Ted Morgan, Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Vietnam War
Norman Stone, The Atlantic and Its Enemies: A Personal History of the Cold War

Lately Neglected
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill
Edmund Burke, The Evils of Revolution
F. J. Sheed, Theology for Beginners

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
The Proclaimers, "Everybody's a Victim" from Persevere (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Compare to "Weird Al" Yankovic's "I'll Sue Ya."

"Well, it's not my fault that I'm positive,
I just stuck a needle in my arm!
And nobody told me that sixty a day
Would do my any harm.
My liver's shriveling like a leaf,
But it's not the whiskey that do's it.
Call me irresponsible
And I'm really going to lose it!

"Because—
Everybody's a victim,
It seems we're going that way,
Everybody's a victim,
We're becoming like the U.S.A.…"

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
Reel Big Fish, "Beer" from Turn the Radio Off (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Beer" was running through my head this morning even before I'd managed to get out of bed. I always quote the following because "Beer" is en eminently quotable song & these are the most quotable of all the song's lyrics:

Commentary: This is not me having more fun at The Proclaimers' expense over Scotland's rejection of the S.N.P.'s independence referendum, this is me appreciating The Proclaimers' music on its own substantial merits. "I Know" is a song about warfare, about Mankind's propensity for violence, an indelible part of our collective character. 'Tis chosen as the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. in part due to my anger & confusion over the new Twelfth Doctor's prejudice against soldiers. I'm not yet ready to stop watching Doctor Who over this disquieting turn of events, but I am very tempted to send Steven Moffat the "Why do you hate them so much?"/"Why do you love them so much?" debate from A Few Good Men.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Commentary: Support the Jacobite claim to the thrones of England & Scotland over the Hanoverian claims if you wish, but engage not in myth-making & revisionist nonsense. Bonnie Prince Charlie's invasion/uprising in 1745, which was decisively crushed at the Battle of Culloden, had Highland support, certainly, but the Highland clans do not all of Scotland make (Wayback Machine).

"But in scarcely the time it takes me to tell
The flower of our country lay scorched by an army
As ruthless and red as the embers of Hell…

"'Twas the musket and cannon against honor and courage,
The invader's men stood as our clansmen did fall…"

Commentary: Bagpipe music today, because my heritage is one-quarter Scottish—just as much Scottish as it is Irish, though my middle name & Catholicism make me seem more Irish—& yet I should have been ashamed of that heritage had Scotland voted "Yes" to the S.N.P.'s asinine independence referendum. I am against the idea of Scotland as a nation independent of the United Kingdom, but my most vigorous objections are to the fairy-tale manner in which Yes Scotland tried to sell the independence referendum, not as a mature discussion on Scotland's future but as an infantile protest against imaginary ills, & to the referendum's attempt to disenfranchise the English, the Welsh, & the Northern Irish, as if Scotland's departure from the United Kingdom would have no impact on those other constituent peoples of the British nation. Today I can again be proud of my Scottish lineage.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of Union
The Proclaimer, "Cap in Hand" from Sunshine on Leith (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The Proclaimers are longstanding supporters of "Scottish independence," a poorly-argued fairy tale in which Scotland could gain independence from the United Kingdom, gain tremendous benefits & suffer no negative consequences in the least. I might not be opposed to Scottish independence if only anyone would argue for it as an adult, instead of spinning childish tales of butterflies & rainbows. "Cap in Hand" is a complaint against Scotland's supposed oppression by England, as if Scotland was not a constituent part of the United Kingdom but instead of colonial subject of same.

Yes, this is me laughing at The Proclaimers due to the Scottish electorate's own rejection of the S.N.P.'s independence referendum; the Scots are part of the U.K., as they have been since the Acts of Union in 1707, by choice & not by coercion.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
They Might Be Giants, "My Man" from Mink Car (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: More proof that learning is fun & that educational songs can be both informative & entertaining. As soon as my first alarm clock blared in the pre-dawn darkness, "My Man" was in my head, apparently because anatomy is what I want, first thing in the morning. Anatomy!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Sufjan Stevens, "Holy, Holy, Holy" from Songs for Christmas (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: As with so many of Stevens's recordings, this rendition of "Holy, Holy, Holy" is a song of staggering aural beauty.

"Holy, holy, holy!
Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of the sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy,
There is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power,
Perfect in power,
Love, and purity…"

Friday, September 12, 2014

Today is the feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, declared a universal feast for the whole Church in 1684, in celebration of the Battle of Vienna the year before, a decisive victory of the Holy Roman Empire & the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth over the Ottoman Empire: Holy Name-link & Wikipedia-link.

What should I espy yesterday on Bristol Road, a sad sack collection of potholes that barely suffices as a thoroughfare? A Maserati GranTurismo in all its glory, resplendent in white & matte black. This is not the first time I've spotted a Maserati in the area, but 'tis still an uncommon enough sight to be noteworthy. I do not believe I'd previously seen that particular Maserati.

Ferraris do nothing for me, aesthetically, but Maseratis? That, my friends, is a horse of a different color. The GranTurismo is a thing of true beauty, aside from the ugly name. (What would have been so hard about Gran Turismo?)

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Only two more thin volumes 'til I've exhausted the tales of Barsoom, of the ageless Earthman John Carter, Warlord of Mars, & his incomparable Martian princess Dejah Thoris; of their noble children Carthoris & Tara; of the Warlord's boon companions Tars Tarkas & Kantos Kan; of the Master Mind of Mars & the false goddess Issus; of the Twin Cities of Helium & sinister Zodanga; of the rival hordes of the Tharks & the Warhoons. I shall be sad to say "good-bye," but I know that one day I shall return to Burroughs's dying Mars & its many races, to the dry ocean beds full of banths & great white apes. Plus, there are the same author's tales of Tarzan, Venus, & Pellucidar yet to encounter.

Rediscover Catholicism opens with a clumsy analogy of Christ's redemption of this fallen world: A plague is sweeping the surface of the earth & threatens to wipe out all of Mankind. A boy's blood is tested & found to be the perfect basis for a vaccine, the catch being that all the boy's blood will be required, killing the boy. Will the boy's father sacrifice his boy to save a world of strangers? Clumsy, because no outside agent came to God the Father & asked Him to sacrifice His Divine Son—He alone is salvation's Author; 'twas not another's idea—& the Father was Himself never personally imperiled by Mankind's sinfulness, as the boy's father in the analogy is imperiled by the plague. Let us hope that the argumentation throughout the balance of the book will be more holy & less holey.

Recently
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Swords of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Synthetic Men of Mars

Currently
Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose

Presently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Llana of Gathol
Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter of Mars
Rice Broocks, God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty
Sir Ernest Shackleton, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
Richard Price, Clockers
Sir Richard Francis Burton, translator, "Sinbad the Sailor" from The Arabian Nights
Ted Morgan, Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led American into the Vietnam War
Norman Stone, The Atlantic and Its Enemies: A Personal History of the Cold War

Lately Neglected
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill
Edmund Burke, The Evils of Revolution
F. J. Sheed, Theology for Beginners

Commentary: August & now September have been rough for Project BLACK MAMBA. Weddings on back-to-back weekends, a two-day retreat the following weekend, interweb outages, numerous mostly parochial commitments; The Secret Base as a whole has been neglected, & BLACK MAMBA along with it. I have no flux capacitor-equipped DeLorean, so there's nothing to be done but move forward & try to do better, to emulate the perseverance of the saints, as it were.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Isle Thing" from U.H.F.: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: After listening to "Isle Thing" last night, I had a dream in which Tone Lōc & I were aboard the Minnow, trying to prevent the vessel from sinking. I, too, am outraged that there was no sign of either Ginger or Mary Ann.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
John Williams, "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)" from Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "The Imperial March" elicited probably the most rapturous reception of the night, besting even "Star Wars." Much as I love "Darth Vader's Theme," I could not but shake my head & wonder aloud, "You guys know this is the bad guys' song, right?"

Commentary: There were not half as many toy lightsabers brandished & displayed in the Hollywood Bowl during "Yoda's Theme" as during any other selection from Star Wars. I confess that before I could identify which song this was K. Steeze turned to me in delighted astonishment & whispered, "'Yoda's Theme'!," but even before this I was sure 'twas from Star Wars.

I've been enjoying the television series The Strain, & I intend to continue watching, but there's no denying that more than a little of the show's shine was lost with this past Sunday's risible debut of hooded antagonist "the Master's" true visage. This is far & away the least scary creature design I have ever seen. Suddenly, even the laughable human/Alien hybrid from the end of Alien: Resurrection doesn't seem quite as silly as it so obviously is; after all, The Strain's Master proves that the hybrid could have been even worse. This has to be some kind of joke, right?

Monday, September 8, 2014

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day
John Williams, "Star Wars/Arrival at Naboo" from Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: When the Los Angeles Philharmonic played the unforgettable opening measures of "Star Wars" the Hollywood Bowl fairly erupted; this was very late in the program, because what could follow this? I admit to having been ever so slightly disappointed when the chorus did not return after the intermission, because that meant "Duel of the Fates" was not in the offing.

Sonntag, 7 September
Sam Cooke, "Jesus Gave Me Water" from Portrait of a Legend, 1951-1964 (T.L.A.M.)

Friday, September 5, 2014

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
John Williams, "The Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: For my money, the title of the first Indiana Jones picture is Raiders of the Lost Ark, not Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'm a hypocrite, though, because I regard the first Star Wars picture as being called Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, not simply Star Wars. Permit me this small inconsistency.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Today is the memorial of Saint Rose of Viterbo† (1233-1251), annually remembered with the procession of La Macchina through the streets of her hometown: Saint-link, Wikipedia-link, & Machine-link.

Urbi et Orbi | Kith & Kin
On Sunday, 31 August, in greater Los Angeles, I attended my sixty-third Mass of the year, equally the mark for all of Anno Domini 2013 (Wayback Machine). Accompanying me to Saint James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach was my boon companion of many years, the Guy. At first, we could not discern if the church was named after the Apostle Saint James the Greater, the son of Zebedee, or the Apostle Saint James the Lesser, the son of Alphaeus, but then the Guy spied, of all things, a pelican afixed to the altar. I belatedly noticed five scallops flanking either side of the pelican & we knew that the church was named for the son of Zedebee, the scallop being his symbol (Wayback Machine).

My initial goal for 2014 was not to miss Mass on any Sunday, except when traveling. The road has always been the most opportune time to skip, being away from my routine & generally out of sorts. As the year progressed, it began to occur to me that I'm a member of the Catholic Church, the world's most catholic institution. There are Catholic churches everywhere! Why should travel be an obstacle to celebrating the Eucharist? A couple years hence, when I visited the Guy & the Gal in Saint Louis for New Year's, the Guy accompanied me to Mass on New Year's Day at the Basilica of Saint Louis, King of France (called the "Old Cathedral" because it used to be just that, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis), so I knew he'd be game even though he's not a regular churchgoer. I consulted with the Ace to locate the nearest Catholic church, consulted the Guy about Mass times at Saint James, & arose not all that early on Sunday morning to go to the ten o'clock Mass. (At night, my body was adjusted to Pacific time, so that midnight felt like midnight, not 3:00 A.M. In the morning, however, my body was still on Eastern time, so if I woke up at 6:00 A.M. I couldn't go back to sleep, since it felt like 9:00 A.M. Odd but convenient for not sleeping the day away, that.) August is normally the worst month of the year in regards to Mass attendance, but this August I attended nine Masses. The goal of attending Mass on every Sunday in 2014 now seems attainable, which is exactly why I'm now expecting the bottom to fall out on this whole endeavor.

Saint James is a lovely church & both the Guy & I were pleased to visit the attached bookstore. Looking at the statues, the Guy asked if I had one of Saint Michael the Archangel trampling Satan beneath his feet. I do not, for the moment. As we gazed upon the tiny reproduction of Michelangelo's Pietà, the Guy regaled me with the tale of Laszlo Toth, the madman who smashed the priceless original in 1972, & Bob Cassilly, the Saint Louis sculptor who thwarted him. The Guy is a font of interesting facts & stories. I was not a fan of the music during the Mass, but perhaps it was very much to the liking of the Saint James parishioners. The procession for communion took place from back to front, with those farthest from the altar coming up first; I'd never seen that before, but could get used to it in time.

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
John Williams, "Prologue and Main Title (from Superman: The Movie)" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The majestic theme from Superman opened the second half of the concert in the Hollywood Bowl. Many in the crowd had lightsaber toys on hand, presumably to wave during the performance of music from the Star Wars films. Fully half the persons in attendance with lightsabers activated them during "Prologue and Main Theme." At the sight of this sorry spectacle, I was torn betwixt weary despair & furious disdain. I muttered something along the lines of, "This isn't from Star Wars, you numbskulls!"

Sunday, 31 August, was the memorial of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne† (circa 590-651), "Apostle of Northumbria" & founder of the great abbey on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
John Williams with the Utah Symphony Orchestra & the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, "Call of the Champions" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: I had the privilege of seeing Maestro Williams conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in a program titled, John Williams: Maestro of the Movies. All this week the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. will be chosen from selections played at that magnificent concert.

The Queue
Aerodromes & aeroplanes are fabulous environments in which to do much reading. 'Tis always a pleasure to return to the pure & unapologetic escapism of Burroughs's Barsoom. "Kaor!"

Recently
Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Swords of Mars

Currently
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Synthetic Men of Mars

Presently
Matthew Kelly, Rediscover Catholicism: A Spiritual Guide to Living with Passion & Purpose
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Llana of Gathol
Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter of Mars
Rice Broocks, God's Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty
Sir Ernest Shackleton, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
Richard Price, Clockers
Sir Richard Francis Burton, translator, "Sinbad the Sailor" from The Arabian Nights
Ted Morgan, Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led American into the Vietnam War
Norman Stone, The Atlantic and Its Enemies: A Personal History of the Cold War

Lately Neglected
Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill
Edmund Burke, The Evils of Revolution
F. J. Sheed, Theology for Beginners